Heroes of the Storm 2.0 Adds Overwatch's Genji and Hanamura Map

By Jeff Francis

Heroes of the Storm has come a long way since it first launched, which is why Blizzard is currently running the Heroes of the Storm 2.0 beta, the new iteration of the free mmo. A lot of changes are being incorporated, but the core concepts still prevail, such as adding heroes and maps from Blizzard's various franchises. Overwatch is making another push into the moba as Blizzard announces the new Heroes of the Storm Genji playable hero and Hanamura map.

The new Heroes of the Storm Genji playable hero is the noble cyborg from Overwatch who was cut down by his brother for not taking part in their clan's illegal activities. Now he has ventured into the Nexus to continue his fight. Genji's abilities are:

Primary Abilities

Shuriken: Throw 3 Shuriken in a spread pattern, each dealing 65 damage to the first enemy hit. Stores up to 3 charges. Shuriken's cooldown replenishes all charges at the same time.

Deflect: Become Protected for 1.25 seconds. Any damage blocked during this period causes Genji to throw a Kunai toward the nearest enemy, prioritizing Heroes and dealing 55 damage. Damage Deflected: 0

Swift Strike: Dash forward, dealing 215 damage to all enemies in a line. Enemy Heroes that die within 2 seconds of being hit with Swift Strike cause the cooldown and mana cost to be refunded.

Heroic Abilities

Dragonblade: Unleash the Dragonblade for 8 seconds. While active, Dragonblade can be reactivated to lunge forward and slash in a huge arc, dealing 240 damage. If enemy Heroes are killed within 2 seconds of being hit by Dragonblade, Swift Strike's cooldown is reset.

X-Strike: Perform two slashes dealing 135 damage. The slashes detonate after 1.25 seconds causing an additional 270 damage to enemies in their area.

As for the new Heroes of the Storm Hanamura map, there are some interesting mechanics for mmo players to enjoy. The cores of each base are protected by barriers that cannot be damaged by players. In order to bring down the barriers, the players will have to escort payloads to the point where it can fire upon the cores. Players can increase the damage inflicted by their next payload by destroying enemy forts.

As one can see, it's an Overwatch kind of day in the moba with the new Heroes of the Storm Genji hero and Hanamura map. What do you think about the evolution of the game into it's 2.0 version? Let us know in the comments below.